Tomorrow starts the National Football League Draft. With much anticipation I’ll be watching to see where the best college players will end up. Now, I know you are like me and these last couple weeks have been a fever pitch of following the rise and fall of players as they… or I should say their agents jockey the players up and down on the draft boards. Hours of film and looking at the combine score cards matched with interviews, team visits, and show casing on the sports talk circuit have placed players in position to be drafted to one of the 32 teams of the NFL.
So what’s this all have to do with Scouting? I know that you would all love to talk football, but we really need to get to the point here. For more football talk head over to the ESPN College Football blog. What all this has to do with Scouting is Character.
As I have been following the mock drafts and the trying to keep up with the who’s who and where they are going on the draft board I have been taking a real hard look at the players this year. What is interesting is that they move up and down the draft board for many reasons. What I have learned is that coaches, GM’s and the NFL have really taken a turn toward character.
In the past it has seemed that the NFL has over looked character issues. But like any business the lack of character ultimately will start to hurt the company. Players like Pac Man Jones can no longer get away with the shenanigans that they used to. Teams want men that they do not have to baby sit and worry about representing their organization.
Look at the circus around the Manti Te’o “fake girlfriend” issue. A great football player is more than likely going to drop as low as the third round in the draft. The fact that he lied is enough of an issue to the NFL GM’s that they consider it a blemish in his character. The problem I have with this particular case is that Manti Te’o is an Eagle Scout. In a moment when he could have shared his Scouting values with the world and maintained his place on the draft board, he chose to lie, he made a choice to turn against the Oath and Law.
So what’s the big deal? Money. A first round draft pick will make an average of $500 thousand more than a third round pick. That’s a big hunk of change and that’s just a guess.
Looking at the big name players this year it is easy to see how much character is playing is the board movement. Geno Smith from West Virginia has been bouncing around because of rumors about his work ethic, LSU’s Tryann Mathieu has been all over the place because of character issues. Mathieu “the Honey Badger” is a fantastic football player and was expected to go early in the first round. Now, it looks like he may go as late as the third round. All because of issues off the field. Playing the game is no longer enough to get a spot on an NFL roster.
As many of you know, my son is a great football player and there are multiple Division 1 schools looking at him as a prospect to play at the next level. The one thing that they stress in our visits and communications is education, keeping the grades up and character. The on the field play is already good enough to be considered. They really don’t want to have a player that they need to worry about. They would prefer to focus on the play.
I love to find parallels in life and no matter were I look I find opportunities to live the Oath and Law. Character is moving multi million dollar football players up and down the draft boards.
I am going to be glued to the draft, at least for the first couple rounds. After that.. I will follow the players that I have interest in. You can see the difference between the players that may be shorter on talent and those that drop because of character. Follow the law and you will get picked higher in life.
Great life lessons always to be learned in Football… and Scouting.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
picture in this post courtesy of http://www.buffalobills.com
Tag Archives: Character
Character again…
We talk a lot about Character and making men of Character in Scouting. We spend a great deal of time reinforcing the ideals found in the Scout Oath and Law and expect our Scouts to live those values which will lead him to a life in which he will be counted as one that has Character.
I have talked about Character a lot here in this blog and believe that if we do nothing else with these young men, we owe them the very best training in being a man of Character.
I have said it before and I will echo it till the end of time… I really don’t care if a Scout earns his Eagle as long as he develops Character. His Character will get him much farther in life than a red, white, and blue ribbon with an Eagle suspended from it. Having said that though, you all know that I want them all to earn their Eagle, but the Eagle award does not make the man, Character does.
I was listening to some sports talk radio today and they were discussing the “steroid Ballot” for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Now, I am not going to bother getting into the details of the discussion and I also will not share my opinion on the ballot.. well actually I am in a round about way.
The reason that this caught my attention was that to the folks hosting the discussion made it an issue of Character. And yes sir.. that’s what it is all about. There was an argument that the guys that are on the ballot that used “Performance enhancing Drugs” were Hall of Famer’s before they used the steroids.. well if they were Hall of Famer’s then.. why did they need to cheat?
Mark McGuire who is the only player that actually admitted to the use of steroids said that it was important for him to “come clean” because at some point he had to look his children in the eye and explain all of this.. and that is what got my attention.
In previous posts I have explained the rule of “Saying it aloud“. It works every time. I really liked the idea of McGuire holding himself accountable to his kids. That is a great rule for character. We are all accountable to some one and we should act accordingly.
Along with the values of the Oath and Law, knowing that at some point we will have to answer for our actions should force us to act with character. I was listening to Dennis Prager the other day, he said something that reinforced this idea. He said he did not care how you feel.. he cares more about how you act. This too plays a big part in curbing selfish behavior and a lack of character. We live in an era where people feel entitled and that as long as they feel it is ok, then it is. On the contrary, we are still accountable for our actions and at the end of the day you will have an effect on someone else. Knowing that at some point I will have to answer for my actions and that the last people on earth that I ever want to disappoint are my children, I act in accordance with my values. Does it always make those around me feel great.. No, but at the end of the day they can see that I acted with character.
I have made it a point to always demonstrate good character to my kids. It has not always been the cool thing and at times it has left them feeling like I am mean-spirited or a jerk, but then they realize that I care and want only the best for them and all of us.
We often use the standard of the Oath and Law in our discussion of wrong and right. We know that at some point we will all have to answer for a decision we make. If more people used that standard, the world would simply be a better place. There would not be spouses cheating on each other, there would be less crime, there would be far less Congressmen… oh I just could not resist, but seriously our leaders would be driven to make better decisions… after all they are accountable to US.. right.
So Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa all juiced and had amazing stats in baseball… they are all on the ballot for entry in the Hall of Fame. We don’t get a vote, but can they say they got in as a player that did not cheat? Just because they all did it, does that make it right? Not if you are judging based on character. If they get in they are in and will have to continue answering the questions about steroid use. If they don’t get in, they will still have to answer for why they did not get in.. the steroid use. If they were actually Hall of Famer’s before they used.. they should have use McGuire’s standard of how he would answer to those that are most important.. his kids. Personally I don’t care one way or the other if they are Hall of Famer’s. To me, they cheated and therefore lose the privilege of being in the Hall of Fame, but then my only vote is how I look at them in regard to their character. I judge.
As for me, I will use the values I have and the remember that one day I may have to look in my children’s eyes and answer for my actions. That should be enough to make anyone remember that Character matters more than Eagle Medals or statues in the Hall of Fame.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
Character v. Reputation
Yesterday all over sports talk radio they discussed the recent incident between Tim Tebow and his head coach. Now I don’t know all the details as they never really got into it, but the jest of the matter is that for obvious reasons Tebow is not to happy about his role on the New York Jets and tried to explain to his coach the reasons he did not want to play in a certain scheme (The Wildcat) when he does not have a real role as a Quarterback on the team.
Having said all of that, and it really does not matter what the conversation between coach and player was, the radio jocks made it an issue of character and reputation.
Even though you may know little about football and or Tim Tebow, it is pretty well-known that he (Tebow) prides himself as a man of character and integrity. He has often been bashed for his religious convictions and is also often portrayed as a pouting player that has been wronged by his team. The rumors about his work ethic in practice but his tenacious play while on the field contradict at times and calls into question his character and reputation.
One of the radio personalities asked the question yesterday “What is more important, your character or your reputation?”
Well, the answer to me was simple. Character is way more important and if you are a person of character, you will never have to worry about your reputation.
If you focus on being a person of values and character and define your life as such… well then that will become your reputation.
A good team-mate, strong work ethic, willing to do what is necessary to help the team.. those are all traits that mark a man of character.
When we let reputation get in the way of our character to be popular, liked, and paid.. then we chip away at our character and as a result that becomes our reputation.
It thought this answer was simple. What amazed me was how complicated the sports talk radio personalities made it. They did not seem to get that one leads to the other for good or for ill.
Think about it. This is a great life lesson and like Tim or not.. he is doing a great job (good and bad examples) of how we should live a life of character.
Have a Great Scouting Day!
